This week Progressive Maryland activists and allies will be letting two Montgomery Council members know where they should be on the fight for a $15 minimum wage. In Howard County, the first of two houseparties promoting the public election finance question on the Nov. 8 ballot. And Prince Georgians next week continue to discuss Question D on their ballot, which would conveniently sidestep term limits for some Council members, at two upcoming forums.

Last spring a bill was introduced in Montgomery County to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2020. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee is currently considering the bill but two councilmembers, Roger Berliner and Craig Rice, have indicated opposition.

We are calling these Councilmembers to let them know we want a $15 minimum wage by 2020 with NO exceptions and NO exemptions, and we want them to pass the bill out of committee.

Please call Council Vice President Berliner on September 27 and Councilmember Rice on September 28! The calls take 1-2 minutes each (really, we promise, that is not an exaggeration!), and it will make a big impact.

Please sign up for a time slot to call Councilmember Berliner on September 27 and Councilmember Rice on September 28. You will sign up for two shifts (one for each day) and call at the same time each of the two days.

Please provide a cell phone number so you can receive a text reminder along with a script.

On Tuesday, September 27, call Council Vice President Roger Berliner (District 1) at 240-777-7828;

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 09:00 AM through September 28, 2016 -- Your Home or Workplace

ELECTION MATTERS, VERY LOCAL

In addition to the federal offices – President and Congress – progressives will redirect from televised debates and attack ads to important ballot questions with no attached personalities, for good or ill. In Prince George’s a charter change ( that would add two at-large members to the County Council is drawing attention and in Howard County, the opportunity to take a step toward getting big money out of local politics is represented by a ballot question, Question A.

Progressive Maryland and allied activists and organizations are supporting Question A as a way to return democracy to the voters, not the deep-pocket contributors, and opposing Question D as a stealthy attempt to sidestep term limits for some Council members and an inevitable escalation of the level of money it takes to gain office in Prince George’s, already awash in developer cash.

Here are venues where these questions will be on the agenda:

Coming up: discussions on Question D in Prince George’s

October 6thProgressive Cheverly's forum on the November election. We will focus on important "down-ballot" issues. --Hear speakers David Harrington, President of the Prince George's County Chamber of Commerce and Doyle Niemann, former District 47 Delegate in the Maryland House of Delegates, discuss the pros and cons of Ballot Question D that proposes to add two at-large seats to the County Council. --Hear the District 4 Board of Education candidates, incumbent Patricia Eubanks (invited, but not confirmed) and Cheverly resident Abel Olivo. --Learn what happens to your tax dollars that pay for the bond bills on every ballot. 7:00 pm Hoyer Education Center; Cafeteria 2300 Belleview Ave, Cheverly, in the cafeteria.

October 10 A Community discussion about Question D -- whether to add two at-large seats, to our County Council – sponsored by the Prince George’s Peace & Justice Coalition

The event will be held Monday, October 10, starting 7:30 pm in room 114 at the Greenbelt Community Center, 15 Crescent Road.

Pro and Con participants: District 4 Council Member Todd Turner for a "yes" vote (invited); Local activists Suchitra Balachandran and Tom Dernoga, a former Council member, on the "no" side favored by a federation of local civic associations. (confirmed).

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House Party Discussions on Question A in Howard County, the Citizens Election Fund

October 1: House party for canvassing and doorknocking at the home of David and Mary Marker. RSVP and get the details here.

October 6 House party at the home of Pravin Ponnuri in Ellicott City to discuss and promote “Yes on Question A.” Details and RSVP here.

More information about Question A and the “Yes on Question A” campaign is here.

READING THE PM BLOGS – readers and fans of the PM BlogSpace can get a copy of the Weekly Memo delivered directly to their email inbox. It includes an update on the week ahead as well as links to the blogs that have appeared in recent weeks. Never miss a blog post. Sign up at http://www.progressivemaryland.org/blog_signup

Thanks to the efforts of Progressive Prince George's members and our allies on the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee (PGCDCC) we were able to prevent the Prince George's Democratic Party from endorsing Question D. Watch the video footage from the contentious meeting below!

At its meeting Tuesday (Sept. 20), the Prince George's Democratic Central Committee should not rubber-stamp a bad ballot measure, evading term limits, on its sample ballot. Progressive Maryland Executive Director Larry Stafford, in an open letter to the DCC, details why progressives, and Progressive Maryland, oppose this self-serving move by the County Council.